I'M ALIVE! The part of my life that funds my fake runcareer became very high maintenance over the last few days. But I'm still kicking/running. Life does not perfectly bend to make training easy and convenient- that's why when you have a big goal you have to carve out the time to get that training in.

I am going to tattoo this on my arm so I don't forget. On the other arm I'll tattoo- "put the chocolate down- you don't need it."

A couple tips for getting your run in when you're busy!!!

1. Do what you can- Maybe you have an 8 on your schedule- but if it's between something or nothing- get the run in that you have the time for- even if it's not the full 8.

2. Don't feel guilty- Training cycles are too long to hold on to the guilt from a missed run or lower mileage on a run. If things get crazy busy and you can't get it in- do your best and then focus on getting your run in the next day.

3. Prioritize- What's the most important workout of your week- gonna give you the most bang for your buck? That's the one you should be doing if your time is limited.

4. Keep the workout short- but make it fast- If I only had 20 minutes to get on the treadmill and get a good workout in- I would start at 6 or 7 mph and basically add 1 mph per song I was listening to until the end of my 20 minutes when I could barely hang on/was in danger of falling off. If the mission was to sweat all over the treadmill/feel like I got a workout in- well then, I sure accomplished that.

Soooo....this Rita Jeptoo doping scandal is a pretty big deal. She is one of the bigger names to be caught of late- and it makes you wonder- how many more are there? And how long had she been doping? I like this article on how doping affects us- the lay runner who treats these elites as their runheroes.

It will be interesting to see what the outcome is, either way. Maybe she will pull a Lance and will shed more light on how long she had been doping and the dirty details. I hate leaving things a mystery (flight MH370 still haunts me). I'm about to book a flight to Kenya and get answers... or just see if I can train at altitude for 5 minutes and come down faster. New Boston training plan.

Renewing our hope in runners is my homie Wilson (also the future name of my first child- male or female, doesn't matter.) Pretty incredible seeing Wilson Kipsang's amazing win and even more amazing kick at the end of the NYC Marathon. I wish I had that kick at the end of every race I run. Who am I kidding?! I wish I had that kick in the beginning of ANY race I've run.

I LOVED this point in this article on Wilson- he's tall like me (5'9")- which makes me love him all the more. (Love Meb, but he literally comes up to my shoulder.) With all of these smaller runners in the game, it makes you think that they have the market cornered on any fast times- so this theory of mine has been completely refuted by Wilson (thank you!) because at 6 feet he was the world record holder in the marathon until Dennis Kimetto dethroned him in September.

137 pounds seems mighty light for 6 feet. geez.

His point is fascinating because I've always been told my stride is too long and I need to shorten it and take quicker steps. Clearly high cadence is key- but once I start doing that- the height should one day pay off, right??! (Another highly questionable theory by me.) Please watch the vine in that article. And while you're at it- be mesmerized by him running in the Frankfurt Marathon- that's one gorgeous stride.

My Boston confirmation finally came this week. It's REAL. Well it'll be really real when I'm actually running it- but it's pretty real right now. Happy that I'm getting a strong base in now (last week was 62 miles- not bad for not having a set schedule). So hopefully going in with a strong base will make it a good start to training.

Training has been decent this week- I wasn't able to get any double days in (because of work craziness) - but I did get SOME runs in- which is a total win considering how crazy busy this week was.

Monday- 6 milesTuesday- 6 milesWednesday- no miles (but considering I had to public speak and my heartbeat was in my entire body- I consider that on the same level as a track workout)Thursday- 4 miles

This is my mantra for the week. Hope your weekend is amazing- and plan to get out there and do a something good for yourself- like a run- or a hike- or a massage- or an all-you-can-eat buffet (just kidding on the buffet).